Cutting assemblies are well known in the art. For example, reference may be made to the following U.S. patent documents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,631,858; 4,716,886; 4,938,215; 5,046,252; 5,190,556; 5,584,840; 5,667,516; 5,676,672; 5,913,862; 5,937,523; 5,968,054; and 5,997,548.
The severance of an umbilical cord occurs shortly after birth. The umbilical cord functions to provide a fetus with oxygen and nutrients during the gestation period. Once a child has been born, the umbilical cord needs to be severed. In the regard, an obstetrician, or other practitioner tends to this task by first clamping the cord to reduce blood flow and then severs the cord, thus freeing the fetus from the mother. At the moment before the umbilical cord is severed, it is engorged with blood under pressure from both the mother and the fetus and thus, when severed blood and amniotic fluid escape and flow onto the gloved hands of the obstetrician. Such fluids on the gloved hands of the obstetrician become very slippery and thereby increased risk of an accident, such as the possibility of the obstetrician dropping the infant as the infant is moved away from the mother. Moreover, with the increased risk of blood borne infections from viral agents such as HIV, hepatitis and other diseases such as AIDS, it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved cutting apparatus and method that eliminates or at least greatly reduces such risks.